Lasse Virén

Lasse Virén
	Lasse Virén c. 1974
Personal information
Full name	Lasse Artturi Virén
Nationality	Finnish
Born	22 July 1949; Myrskylä, Finland
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Country	Finland
Sport	Athletics/Track, Long-distance running
Event(s)	5000 metres, 10,000 metres, Marathon
Club	Myrskylän Myrsky
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1972 Munich ; 10,000 m, Gold ; 5000 m, Gold ; 1976 Montreal ; 10,000 m, Gold ; 5000 m, Gold ; Marathon, 5th ; 1980 Moscow ; 10,000 m, 5th
Personal bests	1500 m: 3:41.8 (Lappeenranta 1976); 3000 m: 7:43.6 NR (Oulu 1972); 2-mile: 8:14.0 (Stockholm 1972); 5000 m: 13:16.4 NR (Helsinki 1972); 10,000 m: 27:38.35 (Munich 1972); Marathon: 2:13:11 (Montreal 1976);
Medal record
Olympic Games
European Championships

Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola in the 1920s. He was elected Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976 and later became a politician and a member of Finland's parliament in 1999–2007 and 2010–2011.

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